Robbers Cave experiment and Tommy Robinson Social Media Outrage

I debated with myself should I write this article. Being from a country where my grandparents saw the horrors of the second world war I have to be very sure that what I do is not going to make my views to be picked up as Far Right. Then I went into researching what does Far Right nowadays represent or more accurately what is being called out as Far Right by the mainstream media.

Literally, everything that is not the clear representation of the left is called Far Right. Everything from a stance on abortion, to immigration, is painted with an single brush slowly boxing every person with their concerns and opinions into camps as we see in the dual political environment in the United States. Slowly with every single news shot, online comment or piece of content making us choose which camp we want to be part of. While in University I dipped my toes in Debating, and when losing one argument pulled out Hitler card, everyone quickly explained that in debating using him is an automatic loss of the debate. However, I guess left did not receive that memo.

What if we don’t want to pick sides?

In the Robbers Cave experiment, two group of children were placed against each other. They build their own combined group identity and eventually were placed in the competition. In this way, each group became hostile towards the opposing team while glorifying their own. Sound pretty much like two camps at the extreme left, and right we currently see emerging at least in our part of the woods. Moreover, as the dysfunctional family tears a child to choose his favorite parent all you want to do is save up enough money and move out to live on your own.

Love him or hate him Tommy Robinson became a potent tool for both parts of the political spectrum. Left is using him as an example what conservative committed individual might become or even what damage he can cause to the first glance stable society. In the other side, conservatively inclined individuals are making him into “hero.” However, where does it leave us who are stuck in the middle? What if we don’t want to choose sides, yet might agree with both parties on some occasions and disagree on others. Unfortunately, it seems that does not matter what we do we still have to pick sides.

Labels are for boxes

Now the problem with the entire thing of being pushed into either camp is that left seems to be more aggressive in putting labels. Every single person commenting on particular issues , often with lack of understanding that their comments might have an entirely different meaning thru the eyes of the other (Halo effect) is attacked. If that is not in support of, the poor soul quickly presented with a choice to either apologise for sounding Fascist or to slowly start accepting that he might be slowly drifting from the comfortable streams of centre, towards the rabbit hole called Far Right.

Then, without attack or labeling, you are presented with another choice Blue Pill or the Red Pill. Same reason why Matrix struck something in our minds, some decide to find out about the things we know very little. Don’t forget that individual is already seen as long gone person by the left and right is just placing ideas, real and fake news in front of unsuspecting “Mark”. One “fact” after the other bigger picture starts to emerge blinding sober and critical point of view for the individual. And he’s gone.

Going deeper into a Rabbit Hole

Now, why would this have to be this way? Why do we have to pick sides in a fight lost at its inception? Why are left-leaning individuals excluding real concerns felt by our society further pushing more people into open hands of Far Right? I believe that without an enemy they are nothing, without ideological enemy Antifa would make no sense, and this time it’s barbaric abortion laws, sorry you cannot take that one, next its people who are concerned that historically significant demographic mishaps might make their cities yet another statistic. And when to think about it does every person in Ireland knows the real cost of the repeal? It took a “foreign power” Amnesty International to change the constitution, and there is a small detail of receiving funds from Mr. Soros despite what was ordered by the courts. Wait, how did he make his first real money, wasn’t it done by destabilizing British Pound just to prove a point?

So each time comment is attacked, each time someone is labeled racist, they might find presented with a two-pill situation that is only going to lead to the destruction of independent character and opinion. Both sides if to dig deeper have tough proof supporting their side of the debate, just on the left they soon will run out of labels. Bigot, sexist, xenophobic, racist, islamophobe, nazi or whatever else new comes up. They are building the tools for their own destruction, why does media so openly support their ideas and cause? What do they have to gain by feeding imaginary war pushing us into either camp?

Acidental PR Stunt

When kids in the Robbers cave experiment were assigned to each group, they were individuals, but as soon as they were “assigned” to a group and thru further experiences conditioned to support their camp, they lost their ideas and choices. This research is old, why does nobody see that that information or lack of it works in the same way. When Tommy Robinson was arrested on the 25 May and sentenced without trial, I would believe nobody in the UK had a clue it will result in him in few days becoming known globally. Thru his actions he raised awareness, not as much to what type of crime what population was statistically more likely to do, but how post-London Riots Britain is slowly becoming a police state. By the way, statistics is a fallacy, and nobody knows the future, you can read a great book “Fooled by Randomness” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, to see how “alchemistic” predicting future by number can be.

Facebook earned views over the weekend went over 3 million that would require 150,000 euro to reach if the same audience. Google trends each day revealed how interests about him grew across Europe (minus the Baltic States) by the start of working week reaching as far as Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia. Where partially due to the media ban partially due to the probable dislike of Tommy Robinson himself the press did not cover this. That I understand, but despite being second in requests on Google in Ireland, this did not trend on Twitter. I guess hats off to Facebook and their recent algorithm update and Google for being as impartial as they can be. I know where I will spend my advertising money from now on.

It is clear that old media have too much to lose and withhold the truth. But when Social Media supports uprisings in one part of the world and silence opposing views in the other, it’s clear that there is nothing left to us “Mortals” #FreeTommy#FreedomOfSpeechpic.twitter.com/qL4Jsf5EVS

You might just have to hide the “Internet”

One of the reasons media ban was put up, could be that together with publications social media reach would have been much more significant. Moreover, as counter content was slowly distributed to discredit Tommy after media ban was lifted, carefully scripted press shots appeared again labeling every single person who might sympathise with Mr. Robinson as Far Right and Racist. However, in the current times, anyone can research a bit more, and none of the accusations were valid. Very conveniently as search interest slowed after each major publication pushed precisely same message so did petitions on change.org being kept alive by many influential people addressing the issue of freedom of speech. So then they were called Far Right supporters despite that from nearly all ethnological groups someone stood up to#FreeTommy.